Central Catholic dominates Abington Heights to open PIAA Class 3A playoffs

FROM STEVE MILLER

SCRANTON — – Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough worried this week about how his players would respond to making the 90-minute bus trip to Scranton Memorial Stadium after playing on its home field for the last five weeks.

The Vikings sent plenty of Abington Heights fans scurrying to their cars before the second half started Friday night.

In a season of superb efforts, Central Catholic delivered its best in its biggest game to date. Brendan Nosovitch and Kevin Gulyas connected for four touchdowns, and Central's defense forced four turnovers as the Vikings built a 40-point halftime lead.


By the time the demolition ended, the District 11-champion Vikings had secured a 54-14 win over previously unbeaten District 2-champion Abington Heights in a PIAA Class 3A first-round football game.

Central Catholic (13-0 overall) will face another unbeaten, District 9 champion Clearfield, next week in the Class 3A state quarterfinals at a date and time to be determined. Abington Heights ended its season at 12-1, losing to Central Catholic in the first round of states for a second straight year.

Last year the Comets caused trouble for Central Catholic before losing 28-14 at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. After its game-opening drive stalled out at Central Catholic's 21-yard line Friday, Abington Heights had no chance.

The Vikings scored on their first two possessions and six of their first eight in building a 40-0 lead in the second quarter. So much for Central Catholic struggling with the trip north.

"It started with the bus ride up here and getting here on time and being able to relax and eat and go through our regular pregame routine and have some time in the locker room to kind of take it all in," Fairclough said. "The kids handled that well. They were so focused today. It was great to see that.

"We just came out and executed. We knew that was a good football team. We wanted to make our mark in the state, and this was our first opportunity to do that."

No one dominated his matchups more than Gulyas. He established a single-season school record for receiving yards with a 7-yard catch on the Vikings' opening drive.

The Comets had just begun struggling to contain his speed.

Gulyas capped that drive by catching a bubble screen and racing 26 yards for a touchdown. He added touchdown grabs of 29, 9 and 30 yards before halftime and finished with seven catches for 101 yards, all in the first half.

Gulyas touched the ball one more time to start the second half. He took Abington Heights' kickoff, scooped up the bouncing ball and weaved through the Comets for an 85-yard touchdown as the Vikings opened a 47-0 lead.

Gulyas now has 60 catches this season for single-season Central Catholic records of 983 yards and 16 touchdowns.

"Every game's a new game, and we try to come out fast every single game," Gulyas said. "Tonight it just worked out well. We didn't stop till the second half. We just kept punching and punching."

Nosovitch added to his record-setting season by going 15-for-22 for 183 yards before sitting the entire second half. His five touchdown passes tied the single-game record he established in last week's District 11 Class 3A title game against Southern Lehigh.

Five different receivers caught passes from him Friday. Jack Sandherr (three catches, 24 yards), Shane McNeely (three catches, 23 yards) and Kevin McKellick (two catches, 39 yards) all took turns running through and over the Comets.

Nosovitch now has 35 touchdown passes and just nine interceptions this season. He has thrown 23 touchdown passes and only two interceptions in his last seven games.

"Each week he's getting better," Fairclough said. "We're watching a little bit more film with him, and he's taking it all in. He's coming out and executing, and I think he wants to make a statement about just how good he can be. He's certainly doing that."

Central Catholic's defense matched its offense in the domination department. The Vikings shut out the Comets for three quarters before their second unit gave up two long touchdown runs.

McNeely had two sacks and spent much of the game harassing Abington Heights quarterback Dante Pasqualichio. Jalen Snyder-Scipio added an interception and a fumble recovery for the Vikings.

"They're a smash-mouth football team; they love to run the ball," McNeely said. "Our defensive coordinators did a great job of game-planning for this week. We hit them with a couple of different looks and just came out and played physical."

Back in the state quarterfinals for a second straight year, the Vikings now have a chance to go farther than last year, when they lost to eventual state champion Selinsgrove. They are a year older and better.

They don't intend to turn in their uniforms next week.

"We've got to keep it going," McNeely said. "We've got to keep it one day at a time, one week at a time and keep rolling at practice, and it will carry out in the game."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-central-football-1126-20101126,0,6659323.story